Pursuit of Happiness
How will we every find happiness if we are always wanting more. I believe that happiness is inevitable with achievement. The harder you work, the more you will achieve. Part of being happy is the pursuit. If everything came easy, it would grow old quickly. There is pride in working hard for what you deserve.
Defining happiness can be duanting. It has a variety of meanings for each individual. What constitutes happiness for you? I like to think family & job satisfaction. However, when I have total satisfaction in both of these areas, will I still always want more? I will not know until I get there.
Is money the solution for happiness? In many ways it is. Without money, you will likely be unhappy. What many people do not understand is that they probably make decent money. They simply need to learn how to create a budget and manage it. By managing your money appropriately, you will achieve goals with savings & paying down bills. This will ultimately get you more money. This is something everyone can do to get more money. It’s simple but you must remain determined.
Can I Afford It? Calculator
I now have a new calculator on my site that you can’t find anywhere. Because of the tough economic times we are in right now, I have decided to create a calculator that helps you make a decision on whether or not you can afford that next purchase. The calculator is strictly an opinion of mine and has no financial experience backing. I do although have a 783 FICO score so I must know a thing or two.
Check out the new calculator at http://www.alwayswantmore.com/?page_id=71. I’m very interested in hearing comments about it.
New Calculator
I have a new calculator on my site. It’s an investment calculator. It’s fairly basic but it gives you a good idea of how easily money can grow. Give it a try…it’s located at http://www.alwayswantmore.com/?page_id=68.
I’m also working on another calculator that I hope to have soon. It calculates whether a person can afford to buy something they want. It takes into consideration how much money they bring home, their savings, and monthly bills. Keep checking back for it.
Managing Money 101
Managing your own money is not that difficult. It’s as simple as jotting it down on paper. Take 5 minutes of your day to better prepare yourself for the rest of your life. Follow the steps listed here:
- Start with a piece of paper or use some type of spreadsheet tool on your computer (Excel).
- List all of your bills for the month. (Housing, Utilities, Cable, Auto, Credit Cards, etc)
- List other monthly expenses. (Food, Gas, Pets, Savings, etc)
- Add all of these bills and expenses together and subtract them from your monthly take home pay.
- This number is what you have left over for the month.
Try to allow yourself not to spend all of what you have left over for the month. Always make sure you have enough to cover your reoccurring bills and expenses. Also, try to put some extra money into a savings account for an emergency savings.
I offer a great Excel spreadsheet on my site that will allow you to enter your own bills and expenses to help manage your money. It’s located at www.alwayswantmore.com/bills.xls.
I’ve recently started tracking all of my bank transactions in a database. With this I can run queries to help me understand where all of my extra money went. If you would like a copy of it, please feel free to email me for a copy. It’s pretty basic but it works. It’s an Access database so you’ll need this program preloaded on your computer. If you are not the least bit computer savvy, you would always try purchasing something like Quicken. I haven’t used this software but have heard it works pretty well.
I’ll be glad to help anyone with the basic principles of managing their monthly finances. Just email me with any questions. I’m not looking to make any money for these services.
Buy Bank Stocks Now
I’m not a financial advisor but it’s obvious that bank stocks have been oversold. A great example is Wachovia that had a stock price of over $50 last year and was around $8 last week. Just yesterday the bank reported over $8 billion dollars in losses for the second quarter. Its stock price still went up 27% to finish at almost $17. People are losing interest in commodities and instead looking at banks. Bank stock prices will inevitably go back up. It’s almost guaranteed. Why not sink a few bucks into the mix and join in the profits of the big dogs.
I wish I would have bought it when it hit its low last week. I could have already doubled my money. That’s not a bad turnaround. It’s just like the lottery though. If you don’t play, you’ll never win.
ESPY Awards
Posted on July 21, 2008, under Uncategorized.
I watched this for the first time last night. I thought it really was a great show. Justin Timberlake did an excellent job at hosting. I found myself at times waiting for him to come back with his comedic performance and bust on more people. The overall show, especially the clips, has gotten me even more pumped about this season of college football.
I’m a late comer to being a football fan. I didn’t grow up watching sports on television. And the only sport I really played was baseball. While I truly had a passion for playing it, I never really watched any of it on television.
Back to the original topic…I was disappointed with one thing last night. I was tired of all the awards going to the NY Giants. So what they overcame many odds and won the Super Bowl. It’s the best two NFL teams playing. Nothing like the App State vs. Michigan game. Here we are talking about a Division 2 team upsetting a Division 1 team who was ranked at number 5 in the nation. Talk about an upset. This was definitely more of an upset than any of the nominees last night for the ‘upset’ award. Can you say, ‘Popularity Contest’?
It’s only a small gripe from me. I still love sports and will continue to watch it. The good thing about last night…I’m even more pumped about college football season starting. I have my season tickets and I’m ready to tailgate.
I know this post has nothing to do with always wanting more but I bet you’ll eventually get over it. Happy Monday!
Addiction to Oil
Posted on July 14, 2008, under Uncategorized.
Is drilling for more oil really the best solution to our problem? Gas prices have finally reached the $4 mark and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop there. I know I’m not helping the problem when I just bought a new boat but I’m not the one driving a ridiculous commute to work everyday. I only live about 3.5 miles from work.
I really hope we find a better solution to our addiction to oil. Luckily I can afford the $4 gas but eventually the price will go up and I will have to make decisions on what is more important.
I read an article the other day explaining that the US consumption of gas is at it’s lowest that it’s been in five years. The gas prices are certainly curtailing our addiction but it’s also affecting the economy. Stocks are down, food prices are up. When will it end?
Busy Times
I’ve been very busy the last month or so. I’m on a new project at work that doesn’t allow me much time during the day to get on here any write anything. I’m supposed to be working anyway…right?!
Let’s see. I bought a new boat a while back. I’ve never really been much of a boat kind of guy but I’d been thinking about it for a while. I bought a pontoon boat and it’s been a blast so far. I picked up on things really quickly but I definitely learn something new every time we go out. It even has a couple of scratches to prove it. Ouch! I haven’t done any fishing off it yet. I’m really not much of a fishing person. Then again, I wasn’t much of a boat person either. Maybe I’ll have to give it a try. It is fast enough to go tubing behind it though.
I’m really going to try getting back on here again often to update this site. More to come later about the boat. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Gas & Food Prices
It has come to the point where I need to increase my budget for both gas and food. Luckily, I’m in a situation where it really doesn’t affect me that much. I can simply take that out of my miscellaneous spending for the month. It means less frivolous spending but it really doesn’t hurt me like it has most people.
I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought some food for a weekend party. I have some family coming in for the weekend and wanted to ensure we have food in the house so that we don’t have to go out to eat. $183 later…I cringed at the total cost but realized that is what I budgeted for the weekend food cost. While my food budget has increased slightly, it doesn’t bother me because I can offset most of the cost by not eating out as much.
My gas budget has increased. I’m adding an additional $100 to it for the month. I have started to drive a little less but it’s also that time of the year to mow the grass. I don’t have much of a choice when it comes to mowing the grass or driving to work. I can although take less unnecessary trips.
So, with prices going up, I feel good knowing that I can pay for it. It’s all about the budget! Many of the people complaining can also pay for it if they created a budget. People need to better prepare themselves for issues like this.
Tax Rebate - Stimulus Package
I received my tax rebate today just as planned. I’ve had plans for this money for a while now. Half of it is going into savings and the other will be used to stimulate the economy. That’s the nice way of saying that I’m going to splurge on clothes. While I would prefer to save all of it, I actually do need to get some new clothes. I rarely go and buy clothes for myself. Occasionally I’ll go and buy a couple shirts or a new pair of jeans but rarely will I buy everything all at once. This weekend will be different.
What are you doing with your tax rebate? It seems that many people will be putting their money into savings, although the best solution for most is to pay down your credit cards. Luckily, my credit cards are now gone because of my commitment to a plan I started a few years ago. It wasn’t easy, and a two year plan developed into a three year plan but it worked.
Remember; don’t blame anyone else for your financial situation. You make your own choices when it comes to spending your money.
